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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 40 |
| 1877 | 29 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
72 stories matching construct
- The Price of Injustice: Seattle’s Jailhouse Debt
A messy legal arbitration reveals how King County’s jail construction spiraled into a financial debacle—and why the city's approach to housing prisoners remained a 'miserable farce.'
- The Rising Market: New Construction on Seneca Street
A two-story residence takes shape as Seattle’s growth continues to push the city outward in 1877.
- The Boomtown Blueprint: Seattle's 1877 Real Estate Pitch
As lumber prices cratered and labor became cheap, local papers urged investors to stop building shoddy shacks and start constructing 'neat, commodious cottages' for high-interest returns.
- The Struggle to Pipe Water into Early Seattle
A City Council report from 1876 reveals the frantic, early negotiations to secure a reliable, private water supply for the burgeoning frontier town.
- The Jailhouse Audit: Seattle's 1877 Infrastructure Battle
Before the city's modern boom, King County commissioners were locked in a tense legal standoff over the construction costs of the local jail.
- The City That Never Sleeps: Seattle’s Construction Boom of 1876
Amidst the din of hammers and the rapid rise of new cottages, the young frontier town is transforming from a logging camp into a bustling commercial hub.
- Inside the New King County Jail
A detailed look at the 'infallible' brick and iron lockup built to replace older, makeshift holding cells in 1870s Seattle.
- The Iron Road Comes to the Sound
With the first section of the Seattle and Walla Walla railroad under heavy construction, the city braces for a transformation that promises to connect the waterfront to the mountains.
- The Engineering Fever of 1876
As bridge-building projects skyrocket across the nation, Seattle looks toward the ambitious, iron-willed future of American infrastructure.
- The Great Sewer Brawl of Washington Street
A minor street scuffle turned into an unintended construction project when a crowd of onlookers broke through the sidewalk into the city sewer.
- An Indigenous Burial Site Unearthed on Commercial Street
Construction work in front of Mr. Amos Brown’s residence reveals human remains, highlighting the history of the land.
- The Hilltop Inferno: Arson Claims a Seattle Landmark
When the residence of J.P. Robbins burned in 1877, the city’s lack of water infrastructure and public apathy turned a potential save into a total loss.
- The Industrial Ambition of the Seattle Waterfront
An 1877 editorial champions the Puget Sound as the inevitable future global hub for shipbuilding, driven by the unmatched quality of local yellow fir.
- The Steamboat Race for the White River
As farmers in the White River valley struggle to move their produce to market, two rival steamboat captains rush to launch new, shallow-draft vessels to dominate the river trade.
- Seattle’s First Great Street: How Denny Hill Became Front Street
In March 1877, the city is racing to finish the brutal grading of Front Street, transforming a muddy slope into Seattle’s first grand thoroughfare.
- The City’s First Big Job: Who Will Build Madison Street?
Seattle Mayor Thomas D. Sealth issues a call for contractors to pave the city's most important new artery, signaling a shift from dirt trails to urban infrastructure.
- A Perilous Ascent on Front Street
A construction worker suffers a violent fall while building a new home, sparking a community health scare in 1870s Seattle.
- The Price of Poverty in 1877 Seattle
When the County Commissioners opened a new poor house, they explicitly designed it as a workhouse to deter the 'dissolute class' from seeking public assistance.
- The Struggle for a Safer Seattle Waterfront
As the city rapidly expands its harbor, a push for a new railing along the waterfront aims to protect nighttime travelers from accidental falls.
- The Midnight Hazard on Front Street
A pedestrian falls into an open trench, highlighting the lack of basic safety measures in a growing, construction-heavy Seattle.
- The Great Jam: Seattle’s Gamble on Clearing the Skagit River
As a massive log jam threatens to stall trade in the fertile Skagit Valley, enterprising locals are betting their fortunes on a dangerous engineering feat to open the river for commerce.
- The City’s First Big Bet: Seattle Council Approves $104,078 for a New Roadway
In April 1877, the territorial government authorized a major public works contract to pave and grade a critical stretch of Seattle’s main street, signaling the town's transition from muddy trail to modern city.
- The Brickyard Expansion: Fueling Seattle's Rapid Growth
As Seattle transitioned from a frontier outpost to a developing city, a local businessman secured a four-year lease on the city's primary brickyard to meet the surging demand for permanent construction materials.
- The Price of Education: Seattle Schools in Crisis
When the School Board looked to rent space from the University of Washington to ease overcrowding, they were met with a rental demand that signaled the end of public space as a bargain.
- The Industrial Heartbeat of 1876 Seattle
A glimpse into the daily churn of a rapidly growing frontier town, where hardware, coal, and steam power built the foundation of the Emerald City.